Game 1
Sadly, I didn't get a chance to actually watch the game today, so I'm going to limit my comments pretty severely. Here are the things that flitted through my mind while watching the Game Cast of this during class.
1.) If you had said that Johan Santana would go 8 innings, strike out 8, give up 2 runs on 5 hits; well, I would have taken that. I can't even really blame the offense, because it sure seemed like Zito brought it something fierce today. You know what? It happens; great pitchers can do this. By no means is this good news; the Twins have to now win 3-of-4 to advance. But I'll talk the Twins over the Athletics over your average 5-game series, and I still think the Twins can, and will, pull this off.
2.) I harped on it earlier this year, but I'm going to mention it again because it irritates me so much. Castillo walked, for the second time in the game, in the 4th inning. The Twins, recognizing that this was going to be a close game, chose to have Nick Punto sac bunt Castillo to second base. I hate the idea of giving up a precious out just to get a guy to second base, especially when the game is just in the 4th inning. The one thing that made me hedge my comments a little bit was the fact that Joe Mauer was up next, and Mauer has had a bit of a proclivity for grounding into double plays. Nevertheless, on average I would keep the out and let Punto hit away, knowing that the big guys are coming up. Considering that this move rarely seems to result in a run for the Twins, there seems to be a wee bit of empirical evidence for my position. Maybe if I get really, really bored this winter I'll try to put up some numbers. Until then, you're left with nothing but my scribblings.
3.) That decision by the A's to sign Frank Thomas this winter? Yeah, that was a decent move.
4.) Is it safe to say that we should all lay off Rondell White (and Terry Ryan for signing him) from here on out? White has been a very productive hitter since he figured out what his problem was and adjusted. This would have been viewed as a very solid signing had White not been injured early, and I for one am over it. Tony Batista? Not so much.
5.) Jason Bartlett gets on second base with nobody out and we can't get him in? Unacceptable in the playoffs. Luis Castillo absolutely has to get Bartlett to third in that situation. As tough as it is to name a guy who got on base in 3 of his 4 at-bats the "Goat of the Game," I think he deserves serious consideration alongside Jesse Crain. In fact, Crain gave up a homer to the same guy that Santana did, so it's hard to blame Crain for that. Little things count in the playoffs, and Castillo didn't get the job done.
6.) Can a Boof beat a Loaiza? I think so; but once again I'll be following Game Cast rather than television. *Sigh* I'll make sure I have my Homer Hanky with me in class tomorrow, though. I forgot it today and we lost; clearly a change needs to happen, stat.
1.) If you had said that Johan Santana would go 8 innings, strike out 8, give up 2 runs on 5 hits; well, I would have taken that. I can't even really blame the offense, because it sure seemed like Zito brought it something fierce today. You know what? It happens; great pitchers can do this. By no means is this good news; the Twins have to now win 3-of-4 to advance. But I'll talk the Twins over the Athletics over your average 5-game series, and I still think the Twins can, and will, pull this off.
2.) I harped on it earlier this year, but I'm going to mention it again because it irritates me so much. Castillo walked, for the second time in the game, in the 4th inning. The Twins, recognizing that this was going to be a close game, chose to have Nick Punto sac bunt Castillo to second base. I hate the idea of giving up a precious out just to get a guy to second base, especially when the game is just in the 4th inning. The one thing that made me hedge my comments a little bit was the fact that Joe Mauer was up next, and Mauer has had a bit of a proclivity for grounding into double plays. Nevertheless, on average I would keep the out and let Punto hit away, knowing that the big guys are coming up. Considering that this move rarely seems to result in a run for the Twins, there seems to be a wee bit of empirical evidence for my position. Maybe if I get really, really bored this winter I'll try to put up some numbers. Until then, you're left with nothing but my scribblings.
3.) That decision by the A's to sign Frank Thomas this winter? Yeah, that was a decent move.
4.) Is it safe to say that we should all lay off Rondell White (and Terry Ryan for signing him) from here on out? White has been a very productive hitter since he figured out what his problem was and adjusted. This would have been viewed as a very solid signing had White not been injured early, and I for one am over it. Tony Batista? Not so much.
5.) Jason Bartlett gets on second base with nobody out and we can't get him in? Unacceptable in the playoffs. Luis Castillo absolutely has to get Bartlett to third in that situation. As tough as it is to name a guy who got on base in 3 of his 4 at-bats the "Goat of the Game," I think he deserves serious consideration alongside Jesse Crain. In fact, Crain gave up a homer to the same guy that Santana did, so it's hard to blame Crain for that. Little things count in the playoffs, and Castillo didn't get the job done.
6.) Can a Boof beat a Loaiza? I think so; but once again I'll be following Game Cast rather than television. *Sigh* I'll make sure I have my Homer Hanky with me in class tomorrow, though. I forgot it today and we lost; clearly a change needs to happen, stat.
posted by JST @ Tuesday, October 03, 2006
1 Comments:
At Wed Oct 04, 09:46:00 AM ,
Anonymous said...
Okay. I played a little hooky and watched. In my mind the problem was our hitters approach at the plate. After the second inning it was obvious to me (I was yelling it at the TV) that they were chasing balls, that Zito would have trouble getting it over, and they needed to make him go deep in the count. As it was, it seemed we were always hitting the first or second pitch (pop up or infield groundball) and not making Zito work harder and longer, letting them get out of inning quickly, etc. I know that it's easier to sit there and say what should happen than to be the guy with the wood in your hands at the plate, but I think there would have been more walks, and they would have had Zito gone by the 6th, if they had been more patient.
So, that was yesterday, let's look for a good effort today and from Radke coming up.
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